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Asheboro mayor faces challenger

ASHEBORO — Asheboro Mayor David Smith has an opponent in his bid for a second term, but four incumbent city council members seeking re-election are unopposed.

Early voting begins Thursday at the county elections office at 158 Worth St. in Asheboro; Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, when the polls will be open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Smith said he is running for a simple reason.

“I’m not done yet,” he said. “I enjoy being part of city government. I’m pleased to have a hand in shaping the future of Asheboro. I enjoyed very much my four years as mayor and I’d like to get another four years.”

Jackie Cole said he is running for mayor for a simple reason, too.

“I don’t like to go to the polls and have to vote for a person that’s unopposed,” he said, “ ’cause you know who’s going to win.”

Smith said he sees creating jobs and economic development as city priorities for the next four years.

“My number one priority is jobs — trying to put people back to work. And part of that is continuing to develop our quality of life — making Asheboro attractive.”

Second on Smith’s list is development of the general purpose/soccer park put on hold a few years ago during the economic downturn.

“That’s my next special project,” he said. “We finished the (Sunset Theatre) — that’s been a great project for downtown, the quality of life. The next big thing, we believe, is a soccer park.”

The city purchased 65 acres on Zoo Parkway south of town to build the park. The price of the park as originally proposed was $6.5 million. That plan included several soccer fields, a walking trail, an amphitheater, a dog park, a playground and other recreational areas. The plan may need to be downsized, Smith said.

“My goal is to secure the means to construct this park. The park is ultimately an economic engine, also. We hope to host regional soccer tournaments, which, with our central location and the zoo, we just believe that we can host regional soccer tournaments and that will bring people to Asheboro.”

Cole said the top thing he would do as mayor would be to work on making the city — and city hall, in particular — a more welcoming place.

“They could be a little more helpful, a little more friendly.”

Cole said he called to report potentially hazardous tree limbs on Park Street. He thought the branches might fall on a person or a vehicle. He got a return call, he said, telling him that the state takes care of maintenance on Park Street, as well as a few other streets in the city. He was told to call the state.

“They should have called the state,” he said. “They left it up to me.”

He said he thinks city police officers could be friendlier, too.

“They should treat the public like a friend, not as a suspicious enemy.”

Another priority for him: “We just need somewhere for people to go to walk, to ride a bike.” Cole said he would like to see sidewalks on both sides of North Fayetteville Street all the way to the city limits.

Each candidate was asked why a city resident should vote for him for mayor.

Cole said he noticed that Smith was voted favorite politician in The Courier-Tribune’s recent Readers’ Choice awards.

“I’m not a politician, so he’s got me there,” he said. “I can’t say anything bad or anything good (about Smith). I’m not the type that likes to receive recognition. I don’t want to be pointed out in public and have something good, or bad, said about me. I just got in the race. I don’t like to see a poor turnout.”

This year’s council race is markedly different from when Carter and Moffitt ran for re-election in 2009 — and Bell and Hunter each ran for the first time. Eleven candidates filed for the four open seats then, necessitating a primary in October.

Bell said he has enjoyed his first four-year term.

“I think that I still have things to offer on the council — life experiences and what I do (as an attorney). It’s been a pleasure to serve and I’d like to continue doing it.”

He sees the economy and economic development as top-burner issues.

“I’d like to see us focus on what we can do to bring jobs to the community,” he said. He wants the city to do what it can to attract particular restaurants and retail businesses that residents say they want.

“There’s a wish list,” he said. “If we could get a couple, it would mean a lot to the community in terms of having alternatives.”

He also supports developing more recreational opportunities, particularly soccer fields.

Carter has been a member of the city council since 2001. She is running for a fourth four-year term.

“I have learned so much being on city council, things I never knew before,” she said. “I still feel like there is so much more to learn. And from what I’ve learned, I feel like I’ll be able to use my knowledge better. Plus, there’s still more to be done. There’s always future things — and maybe something you start you want to see finished.”

Carter said the first order of business on her agenda for the next four years will be establishing a third fire station.

The city purchased property on Salisbury Street — the former Randolph Farm Equipment location — to build a station to cover the eastern and southern parts of town.

“As we continue to grow,” she said, “we need to have that fire department up and going.”

Second on her mind are a pair of priorities: Promoting a safe environment and strategy for future growth.

“I think those two go hand-in-hand,” she said. “When people look to move to your town, that’s one of the things they look at. I think it’s real important to have that safe environment, not only for the people moving in, but for the people that live here.”

Hunter is seeking a second term.

“I’ve enjoyed the last four years and I appreciate the chance and am looking forward to serving and helping Asheboro continue to move forward in a positive direction,” he said.

Hunter said his top priority over the next four years will be to keep current city services at their current level without an increase in the property tax or in water and sewer rates. He said he realizes that that may be difficult.

“You’ve got to have a hope and a goal,” he said.

If rates must go up, he’ll be lobbying for “as little as possible tax increases.”

Hunter said he would also like to see the city kick-start development of the Zoo City Park on city-owned land on Zoo Parkway.

“This involves spending money and it’s kind of hard to have it both ways,” he said. He explained that he advocates spending money on the park because he thinks it will generate money in the long haul.

“There’s money in soccer tournaments,” he said. “I really think it would be an investment in bringing more dollars in tourism here.”

He pointed to the success of last summer’s American Legion Southeast Region baseball tournament at McCrary Park, with city restaurants and hotels filled as people from seven other states, as well as from North Carolina, came for the games. He envisions the same scenario if the city had a facility to host soccer tournaments.

Moffitt has served two four-year terms on the council.

“I feel like I still have more to contribute to benefit Asheboro,” he said. “I enjoy it. It’s one of the most rewarding things I do.”

He said he thinks the city has accomplished a lot in the past four years, but that there is still work ahead. Topping his to-do list are job creation and industrial park development: “We’ve got to be as proactive as our budget will allow — maybe even more so.”

Quality of life comes next.

“We’ve been working our way down the checklist,” he said. “It’s time for us to pursue our soccer park. It’ll be a recreational boon.”